Living Heritage

Concerts entitled „Living Heritage” is a program consisting performances of four present-days bards of Serbian music tradition:

Boško Vujačić (gusle player),
Svetlana Spajić (performer of traditional Serbian songs),
Bokan Stanković and
Miloš Nikolić (performers on traditional wind instruments).

Concerts were also performed in a form with three performers’ (without Bokan Stanković).

All four performers’ musical skills, their experience and wide knowledge about Serbian traditional music are truly remarkable. Unique and knowledgably conceptualized program represents the link between historical memory and arts. It is a musical journey across Serbia and through époques.

Interacting with the audience in pleasant and approachable atmosphere, alternately performing, through music and words, performers present and emphasize specific forms of our musical heritage: from epic (singing accompanied by gusle) via folk songs (ojkače, clamer singing, singing „on bass“) to melodies of folk dances from Eastern and Southern Serbia played on Svrljig bagpipe, duduk, kaval, okarina and trumpet.

Concert program presents several elements of safeguarded intangible heritage. While “Singing to the accompaniment of the Gusle” is also inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Clamor singing, Bagpipe playing, Pipe playing practice, Kaval playing and Ojkača singing are inscribed in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Performers themselves represent “Living Human Treasures”, a term used by UNESCO to refer to the bearers of intangible cultural heritage.

Concerts „Living Heritage” is a project of Music Information Centre of Serbia.

About the performers:

In last 45 years, Boško Vujačić is known as „gusle player from the folk”. Many consider him not just as a member of gusle players’ community but as the best among them. For example, his interpretation of Radovan Bećirović – Trebješki’s poem “Mojkovac battle” is unsurpassed. Nowadays, in his mid-70s, Boško Vujačić clearly remembers when, at the tender age of 5, he produced his first melodies on gusle and became captivated for life. Up to present days he is constantly learning, researching, singing, making poetry, interpreting history, folk poetry and Serbian people’s tradition.

Svetlana Spajić is a singer of traditional Serbian songs, performer, pedagogue, cultural activist and translator. She is dedicated to safeguarding traditional Serbian culture. Her fieldworks are not only about collecting songs and melodies, but foremost about learning from traditional practitioners, singers and musicians from the people. Svetlana’s repertoire includes Serbian archaic songs and music from Knin Region on the West to Negotin Region on the East, notably Podrinje (region surrounding river Drina) such are singing “on the voice” as well as chanting and singing “on the bass”.

Bokan Stanković is a leading player of wind instruments, mainly trumpet, Svrljig bagpipe, duduk and okarina in Serbia. He is one of few remaining authentic bearers of instrumental tradition in the Eastern Serbia. Since his youth Bokan went to villages in Eastern Serbia and from old bagpipers and singers learned ancient musical traditions. Nowadays, he is walking, talking and playing encyclopedia of ancestors’ knowledge and instrumental, vocal and dancing traditions. For his musical work Bokan received many awards at festivals of folk creativity. Dozens of his recordings are treasured in the archive of Radio Belgrade. As a performer and a pedagogue, he was engaged in numerous seminars and workshops for bagpipers. Bokan is a member of Goran Bregović Orchestra.

Miloš Nikolić holds a PhD in music. He is multi-instrumentalist with wide specter of musical interests and competences. Beside clarinet, Miloš plays traditional instruments such are kaval, bagpipe and pipes. Although he mainly plays authentic traditional music, he sometimes connects tradition with popular music genres. He is also a pedagogue teaching at Music School “Mokranjac” in Belgrade. For over a quarter of the century, Miloš researches Byzantine church music. He mastered Neum Notation, knowledge that he passes to his students and skill that he presents at concerts. He also researches Oriental music traditions. His recordings were included in films and radio dramas. Miloš plays with several orchestras.